Benson Ford

The Kaye E. Barker departed Duluth on Friday afternoon (above) with a cargo of coal for Taconite Harbor. It will be back this afternoon to load coal again, this time to take to Marquette, Michigan, on the south shore of Lake Superior. It will be the 16th trip to the Twin Ports the Barker has made this season, more than double the number of the last 10 years. Many of those trips, like today, were 'local' runs to Lake Superior ports. Photo taken on … [Read more...] about Kaye E. Barker makes short runs

Winter weather is not kind to ship arrival and departure times. It is a little early for ice problems but two boats expected yesterday should be here today instead (the Kaye E. Barker, seen above entering the Duluth piers last December, and the Canadian Olympic). The St. Clair was expected back from Silver Bay to load another cargo of coal for Silver Bay, but instead it left here yesterday with coal for Ontario Power Generation in Nanticoke. The … [Read more...] about Kaye E. Barker enters icy Duluth canal

It has been a slow couple days for shipping activity in the Twin Ports. Most everything stopped when high winds and ice created less than ideal conditions in the harbor. Often the hardest part of the job coming in to load cargo in conditions like that is getting close enough to the dock. As a boat moves close to the dock, any ice between the boat and the dock can get stuck between the two leaving the boat too far away. Above, the Kaye E. Barker … [Read more...] about Kaye E. Barker and bothersome ice

Captain Greg Sipper brought the Kaye E. Barker under the Lift Bridge on Thursday afternoon at 3:30. One hour later, his wife Emily and son Joel joined him in the pilot house on the boat (above) while the boat was refueled at the Murphy Oil Fuel Dock. Along with daughter Katie who joined them later, the Sipper family resides in Hermantown. Greg was born in Duluth and graduated from Denfield High in 1977. With any luck, the family got him back to … [Read more...] about Kaye E. gets visit from Captain’s family

The Kaye E. Barker doesn't get here very much although it spent the winter here last year. For some reason, as you can notice from the picture above, taken on January 23rd, 2004, this boat seems to favor Duluth in the winter months. Of 6 trips here in 2006, 4 of them were in November and December and of 6 trips in 2005, 4 were in December, January and March. The Kaye E. Barker started life as the Edward B. Greene, sailing for Cleveland Cliffs. It … [Read more...] about Kaye E. Barker likes Duluth winters

It is another big day for coal at Midwest Energy Resources in Superior. And of course, at the end of the season, sometime in January, we will be able to say it was another big year for coal in the Twin Ports. The Walter J. McCarthy Jr. came in last night around 6 pm to load coal for Detroit Edison. The Kaye E. Barker is expected this morning to load coal for Marquette, Michigan. There have been weather delays there so the Barker may have to wait. … [Read more...] about Kaye E. has visibility problem

It's a good deal for places like Duluth when people in the west want stuff from people in the east and people in the east want stuff from people in the west. The Kaye E. Barker will be here today to provide that service. It loaded coal at Conneaut, Ohio to bring up to Duluth where it will be used at several places in Northern Minnesota that need that particular kind of coal. After emptying the cargo holds of that coal, it will then move over to … [Read more...] about Kaye E. Barker in cold water

The Kaye E. Barker may just miss the James R. Barker when the Kaye E. departs Duluth this morning with a cargo of coal for Marquette. A couple hours later, the James R. will be coming in to load taconite. That's probably enough time for the Kaye E. to be out of the path of the James R. The James R. was named after the chairman of the board and president of The Interlake Steamship Company in Cleveland. And yes, his wife is Kaye E. Barker. The … [Read more...] about Kaye E. James R. both Barker

Every couple months, the Kaye E. Barker arrives in Duluth. It will be here today for the 4th time this year, loading coal as it did on two of the previous trips. Starting life as the Edward B. Greene, sailing for Cleveland Cliffs, it was later operated by Ford as the Benson Ford. In 1989, Ford left the shipping business and sold it to the current owner, Interlake Steamship Company. The boat is named after the wife of James R. Barker, Interlake … [Read more...] about Kaye E. Barker coming to snowy Duluth

The Kaye E. Barker started life as the Edward B. Greene, sailing for Cleveland Cliffs. It was also operated by Ford as the Benson Ford. In 1989, Ford got out of the shipping business and it was sold to the current owner, Interlake Steamship Company. The boat is named after the wife of James R. Barker, Interlake Chairman of the Board. He also has a boat named after him.
*submitted to the Duluth News Tribune for publication on 10-19-2005 … [Read more...] about Kaye E. Barker in the harbor

The Kaye E. Barker started life as the Edward B. Greene, sailing for Cleveland Cliffs. It was also operated by Ford as the Benson Ford. In 1989, Ford got out of the shipping business and it was sold to the current owner, Interlake Steamship Company. The boat is named after the wife of James R. Barker, Interlake Chairman of the Board. He also has a boat named after him.
Photo taken January 23, 2004.
*submitted to the Duluth News Tribune for … [Read more...] about Kaye E. Barker in the snow